I am a little annoyed with people that use my land for hunting/4-wheeling without asking for my permision. This is the year that i really got alot of things done around my place which included placing culverts across the creek that splits my property in two. Now that the rest of my property is easily accessible for me, I have noticed that my other neighbors have cut trails to get to my property. I walk to the back all the time now and it amazes me that they intrude on my property like they pay the mortgage on it. I wonder how they would feel if I took my 4x4 through theor front lawns? I am about to put no hunting and tresspassing signs all over the place with my phone numer on it. Has anyone ever had this type of situation happen to them and was there a happy ending?
John

You don't seem to understand that when they buy an ATV for their kids it comes with an automatic right to go wherever they want. I run them off whenever I can... but usually they say their Dad told them to ride in my field!!!

The last ones were told to leave their ATV right there and walk home to get Dad. Dad has threatened my life for stopping his kids.

John, I am amazed at the lack of respect for a person's property rights nowadays. It's one thing for a neighbor whose property adjoins yours to cross your land. They typically do no damage but agreements should be obtained beforehand. Unfortunately, someone will abuse the priviledge.
In the small town I live in, people used to respect other's rights. Nowadays though, adults and children alike think nothing of walking across my yard to get to the park next door. They (the kids) also think nothing of using my barn as a hiding place to smoke or make out. These same people would think nothing of filing a lawsuit if they tripped, fell and were injured on your property . Cutting across someone's yard as a shortcut doesn't sound like a big deal but some of these kids walk farther to go through my yard than they would to stay on the sidewalks like they're supposed to. They even walk right up next to the house so they can peek in and go by the dog pen which stirs up the dogs.
It all boils down to a lack of respect for rights of others. And it sure doesn't do any good to say anything to them as they cross your property. They just look at you like you're a crazy old man. (they may be right in my case)

BigdogIf you can't fix it with a hammer, you've got an electrical problem.

Back when I was growing up, ATVs weren't a problem, although snowmobiles came along with some of the same problem. The biggest problem we had was hunters that thought their cars and pickups were ATVs. They frequently left some of our more remote fields badly rutted. You rarely saw them in the act, only finding the ruts when mowing the following spring. We never came up with a solution. Dad viewed posted signs as just providing them with targets for target practice.

I currently have a similar problem in a suburban/commercial setting that seems even worse. People not only drive on it, they dump on it. The land beside/behind me recently developed. A water retention pond (normally empty) was built behind me and I provided an easement for the outflow from the pond across my property. The now-bare section over the pipe is now the path needed for dumping trash on my property.

A while back some 18 year old kid decided the pond was a place for him to off-road his Bronco. It was really muddy at the time. He rutted up the entire bottom of the pond and some of my adjacent property. Turned out he got stuck and his father (with evidently a matching IQ) pulled him out. The police happened to see them and get their identity. They contacted the owners of the pond, who chose to drop it. A week or so later I found out about it. The cops hadn't realized there was another property owner involved. I filed a complaint and told the police that is the perps cleaned up the mess, I would drop the charges. They did a pretty good job of smoothing up the pond, but missed most the what they had done to me. I dropped it at that point. I should have been a hard ass and made them do it over, but I didn't want to annoy the cops.

The other on-going problem I have is with utility crews that put stuff whereever they want. The local school district is currently running fiber between all the schools. I happened to go past my property as a crew was just finishing run a tube the long way across my land. They thought they had 8 feet of easement from the edge of the street. There is really about 18 inches and they missed it by 6 feet. They not only buried a tube, but put a huge junction box half way across. I think the crew was really surprised when I went to my car and returned with my property survey, which I happened to have with me at the time.

Of course, the first reaction from their engineer was that they were where they belonged and I didn't know where my property was. The second was that I could give them an easement, although he was still leaning on his first idea. Since he was still unsure about locations, I indicated that they needed to first understand where things are and what the problem is before we decide what to do about it. I have offered to meet with them at the property to look at corner stakes etc. They are going to send a survey crew. I have offered to go there when the survey crew is out. Since the first discussions (9/15) they have not contacted me, although I have called them a couple times. I get tired of these people thinking they can do whatever they want and ignore you. If I don't hear from them in another week, I think I'll call them and tell them they have had ample time to address the problem, and they have 1 week to remove their material and restore my property to the former condition. After the week, I'll probably find out what a chain hooked between their junction box and a tractor does. A month ago I might have been open to some sort of easement agreement.

By the way, I have a recent survey and located corner markers handy because I had to get a survey to make the electric company move their pole and lines off my property into the easement. I gave the company that developed beside/behind me a work access that required them to protect my existing corner markers. After they obliterated them, I finally got the survey myself. They agreed to pay for the survey but still haven't done it (nearly 2 years later).

Hey Guys,
it seems that some people are just disrespectful and ignorant. George, i cant believe the ignorance of the father the kids. BD, i get those same looks from people when i ask them what are they doing on my land. What do you say to the kids when you catch them in your barn??? when i first move to my place, i usually had a firearm slung over my shoulder my favorite is my 870, and i am thinking of carrying it more often. My venting was triggered earlier this week when i noticed hunters on my land. They were hanging some sort of liquid bait on the trail i just cut. i have great vision and i could see them and i yelled out for them to leave. well every morning now, i go through the woods and make alot of noise. Jim, the best thing for you to do about the electric company is to go complain to thier engineering superiours and demand that you should get a percentage of the money from the electricity that went through the lines, and if they dont comply you can go to the public utlility comission. Also, your local zoning should be able to help. as an engineer i have seen all kinda things being done in the field. mostly good though!
John

I have a power line in front of my place that has no easement, but it was there when we bought the property. It is not public, in that I cannot get power from it. It is private, in that it belongs to a private company that supplies power to an adjoining town. This line is in addition to the one that supplies our power. It was built illegally about 20 years ago. State law allows lines necessary to provide service to the subject property without easements, but NOT for private companies. ( our property line extends to the center of the right-of-way)

By coincidence it also passes illegally in front of my son David's former home. When they were building the line they intended to remove trees from his sparsely wooded lot... and he said no, you have no right. They stopped construction right there because they could produce no easement and began building from the opposite end until that line came to the same place. THEN they decided to BUY the trees. The line is right on the edge of a right-of-way that is granted to the township for HIGHWAY purposes ONLY. The cross arms on the poles overhang the adjoining property and they now claim the right to trim or remove trees within 15 feet of the wires. We'll see!

i used to have trouble with people short cutting my place too. it wasn't hard at all to put an end to it. i constructed a 3 inch tall fence with no wire and posts at the most favored crossing points every couple of feet.

A farmer in the area had a similar problem.
He just put posted signs at the middle of all crossings not all the way around.
He then put game cameras watching each poster sign as he is a avid hunter he had cameras already.
He has pic's of the signs being destroyed with who is doing it.
He then mailed each person a copy of the pic. that they were in.
No threat just a pic.
There were some red faces of young boys when dad took them to meet him & pay for damages.
The farmer passed on the money & told them that from now on they were to ask to go on his land.
All but one complied the one that did not is now working $4000.00
worth of corn crop damage off @$2.00 per hour as ordered by the judge!!!!!
Nothing like a 4 wheeler running Thu a field of corn 2' high to roll it down!
No my son is not the above but his ex best friend was!
I know all the above as I was one of the fathers that hauled a son down
to see the man.

well this past weekend i tied up empty pie pans around areas where it would be ideal for shoot deer on my property and i also took down some type of bagged scent bait and threw it away. i went back to check on the tins today and they were taken down! well tomm i will be out there in person because i dont have to be at work at my normal time. i hope to have some nice words for who ever is back in my land. thanks for letting me vent.
john

John, Be careful out back. One doesn't know the mentality of the hunters. I know it's something you have to do, just be alert and state the facts to the trespassers. No personal observations about the hunters lack of intelligence, courtesy, respect for the rights of other peoples property, etc. My $.02. Larry

Ditto on ljw's advice. A polite request for them to get off your land should be sufficient. But it doesn't always work that way. A few years ago, a shoot-out between property owner and hunters in south Arkansas resulted in a death. One never knows the attitude and stability of hunters,assuming that the property owner doesn't know them, and whether they are tanked up on alcohol or drugs. Play it safe. Dan

yes becareful. when i was in high school a loooong time ago. there was this old farmer who lived in southern iowa. (i lived in northern iowa, so it wasnt me)lived alone on his farm. local kids keep breakin into his house and stealing his stuff. probably to sell for booze/drugs. well the cops could nt catch em, too much crime, not enough staff, etc, etc, anyway, after weeks of this guy got tired of it. they always came in the same way. so he rigged up a shot gun/string combo to the window. well that night, they came through, killed the kid. the theiving stopped. but he went to prison. manslaughter i think was the charge. (can only use like means, or something to that affect). lost farm to kids family in lawsuit.

Well guys i finally confronted the person who is hunting on my property and i had some words with him. i took was careful not to be alone and i was actually with a police officer. I also gave another officer permission to hunt on my land. I havent seen any kids on 4 wheelers after i posted some signs with my number on it.
John

When I was a boy we grew up on an 80 acre farm. Plenty to do , kept us out of trouble.town kids had the motor bikes,we had tractors,there bikes are gone, but we still have the tractors, we also never thought of going on someones propety without permission. just did'nt. Dad ,was always there. Dad's,the only thing we can do for sure is make sure our children treat folks with the utmost respect. I guess the thing that really troubles me is that parents buy their kids all the toys,with no place to ride,then send them on their merry way for the rest of us to watch, because they don't have time for them or don't want to look like the bad guy,be the buddy instead of DAD. Then we look like the ogres,when we dicsipline them.